Hometown Fest

The Palatine Jaycees are once again sponsoring one of the largest festivals in the area in the 56th annual July 4th celebration on July 3rd through July 7th at the Community Park on Palatine Road and Northwest Highway.

"The Festival theme is once again Hometown Fest,” said Brad Haun, Co-Chair of the Festival.  "With this theme, we are highlighting the hometown atmosphere that we enjoy here in Palatine.  As we always do, we’ve made this Festival for the entire community.  We have events and activities for all ages with the Arts & Crafts Fair/Business & Charity Expo, the ever popular parade and fireworks, Family Day and a wide variety of food and music."

The Jaycees are adding a new event to the festival this year.  The Jaycees in conjunction with the Bike Palatine Club are promoting riding your bike to the fireworks.  On Friday, July 5th from 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM, the Jaycees and Bike Palatine Club are offering supervised bike parking at the tennis courts on festival grounds.

"We always plan the Festival so that there is something for everybody," said Dan Reinholz, Co-Chair of the Festival.  “The carnival will have midway games and rides for children as well as adults throughout the Festival and will once again this year feature the Mega Pass.  This pass will allow someone to enjoy the rides anytime the carnival is open.”

The passes are $70.00 and will be sold Wednesday, June 26th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM and on Saturday, June 29th from 10:30 AM until Noon at the Park District Building located at 250 East Wood Street.  Individuals will be given a certificate that can be redeemed for a Mega Pass at Hometown Fest.  Passes are also available online at www.palatinejaycees.org.  If individuals are unable to make it to the Park District or buy online, passes will be available at the Fest for $80.00.

On Saturday and Sunday (July 6th and 7th) the Arts & Crafts Fair/Business & Charity Expo will have over 70 exhibits of pottery, jewelry, paintings and a wide variety of other unique items.  On Wednesday, July 3rd, the Jaycees will be continuing their tradition of setting aside time during the carnival for individuals with special needs with The Kathleen A. Blanck Memorial Carnival for Individuals with Special Needs.  Registration will begin 30 minutes before the rides open at 2:30 PM.  Then for an hour and a half until 4:00 PM, individuals with mental and/or physical disabilities and their families are invited to enjoy complimentary rides.

Bingo lovers will also be able to enjoy their passion at the Festival.  On Saturday, July 6th bingo will start at 10:00 AM and then run until 6:00 PM in the food tent at the Festival.  On Saturday, July 6th, starting at 1:00 PM for registration at the Membership booth and warm-ups with the tournament at 2:00 PM, will be the Hometown Toss Corn Hole Tournament.  For $20.00 per team, individuals will be able to compete for prizes and bragging rights throughout Palatine.

"Since families are what bind our community together, we have set aside Sunday, July 7th as Family Day, a day of activities that the entire family can enjoy," said Haun.  "From 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM Palatine's families will be entertained with a bouncy obstacle course and games for the kids.  At Family Day, we’ll have something for children of all ages and interests.”

The parade, which will begin on Cedar Street on Saturday, July 6th starting at 10:00 AM, will have 70 participants of which many of the participating groups will provide music and entertainment.  Palatine Township officials will be collecting food for the Palatine Township Food Pantry in the 17th annual Neighbors Helping Neighbors food drive.  Individuals are also encouraged to bring food donations to the Pop and Water tent on the Festival site after the parade and throughout the Festival.

The most anticipated event during the celebration is the fireworks display.  The fireworks show will be held on Friday evening, July 5th at approximately 9:00 PM or dusk.  This year’s show will, according to Co-Chair Reinholz, "incorporate all of last year’s crowd favorite pyrotechnics as well as some that the committee feels the community will appreciate."

Throughout the Festival a wide variety of music will satisfy the senses.  High Life, Pipe Dream and Dot Dot Dot will perform on July 3rd while on the following day (July 4th) Battle of the Bands, The Cowbirds, Wall of Denial, Diving for Dynamite and Piano Man will take the stage.  The Nancy Boys, Jack Tripper, The Darryl Markette Band, Mellencougar and Bucket Number 6 will be providing live main stage entertainment on July 5th.  The final night for main stage entertainment will be on Saturday, July 6th and will feature The Escapers, Arthurtis and the Slipped Disks, Pirates Over 40, Hillbilly Rockstarz as well as Mike and Joe.

For food, some of Palatine's best eateries and civic groups will supply pizza, hamburgers, ribs, ice cream and some international treats to satisfy the heartiest of appetites.  Some of the restaurants and groups supplying food will be American Legion Post 690, Beef on the Moove, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Chicago Classics, Georgie’s Greek Tasty Foods, Heybeck’s Meat Market, Immanuel Lutheran Church, JJ Twigs, Jamba Juice, Lee’s Concessions, Lunch Wagon and Pancho’s Mexican Food.

The Palatine Chapter of the Jaycees is one of the nearly 100 local Chapters throughout the State and one of the largest chapters in Illinois.  The Jaycees provide individuals between the age of 21 and 40 the opportunity to develop personal and leadership skills while serving their community.

The Palatine Chapter holds their monthly general meeting on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30 PM at the American Legion Hall on Palatine Road in Palatine.  For further information on the Palatine Jaycees, membership or any of their sponsored events write to the Palatine Jaycees, Post Office Box 1517, Palatine, IL 60078-1517, call them at 847-604-0288, email them at info@palatinejaycees.org or visit their web site at www.palatinejaycees.org.